‘I feel ashamed to be British’: Conservative MEP secures Irish citizenship following Brexit vote
3 min read
A Conservative MEP has secured Irish citizenship because he feels “ashamed to be British” after the EU referendum.
Charles Tannock, who has been an MEP for 18 years, attacked the “arrogance, hubris”, “petty nationalism and triumphalism” of Tory colleagues since last year's vote and described himself as a “pretty angry pro-European Tory”.
He did not rule out leaving his party, saying he would not quit “yet” but admitted it is “hard being a Remainer Tory”.
“[My Irish past] has been awakened by Brexit because, to be honest, I am quite ashamed to be British in many ways,” he told the Irish Times.
Mr Tannock, whose grandmother was born in Dublin in 1895, was one of thousands of people to apply for an Irish passport following the Brexit vote.
Dan Mulhall, the outgoing Irish ambassador to London, said the government was expecting to issue double the number of passports in the UK compared to 2015.
Under Irish law anyone who has a grandparent born in Ireland can gain citizenship. Anyone who has a parent with Irish citizenship at the time of their birth can also claim a passport.
“It is a hard place to be as a Remainer Tory, but I am not leaving the party yet.
“If someone like me were to leave the Tory party, it would just become Tory-kip – a Conservative UKIP and I think you need some moderates to try and redress the imbalances which have crept into the Conservative party.
“I deeply regret the Brexit outcome. It was done on a slim majority on a broad franchise. And there were a pack of lies and false promises made. I don’t feel morally bound by the outcome but I accept that legally that was the result.
“The Government feels bound by it, there is no going back on Brexit but where I can be absolutely clear, there is nothing in the referendum which says we have to have the hardest Brexit. I have been campaigning ever since day one for the softest Brexit to stay as close as possible.
“If my model were adopted – to stay in the single market and the customs union – there would be no Border problem in Ireland. Instead they have decided that Brexit means Brexit, there has to be a total divorce and Europe has to become something quite alien. They have this ludicrous idea, led by someone like Liam Fox that somehow the EU has stopped Britain trading with the world. I have always said that if that was so, Germany would have left the club decades ago.”
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